WATER SCRUBBING BASED BIOGAS

ENRICHMENT TECHNOLOGY BY IIT DELHI

Prof. Virendra K. Vijay

Centre for Rural Development & Technology
Coordinator- BDTC
IIT, Delhi
vkvijay@rdat.iitd.ernet.in
BIOGAS Introduction
Energy source produced from biodegradable /organic wastes.

Green and cost effective replacement of wastes.

Potential to meet the energy requirements in rural areas, and also

counter the effects of reckless burning of biomass resources.

Additional benefit of digested slurry - can be dried and sold as high

quality compost.

Wastes of variable qualities and quantities, such as animal

dung, agricultural wastes and food and municipal solid waste, are
available in rural and urban areas.

This waste can be utilised for both centralised large-scale and

decentralised small-scale biogas production/ enrichment and bottling.
WHATISBIOGAS?

Gas is produced by the anaerobic digestion/fermentation of biodegradable

materials such as biomass, manure, food waste,sewage, municiple
waste, green waste, agricultural/plant waste, and crops.
 BIOGASPRODUCTIONPROCESS

Source : http://www.schaumann-bioenergy.com/biogasproduktion/fermenterbio.php
COMPOSITIONOFBIOGASDEPENDSON

The nature and concentration of the substrate,

Feed rate,
C:N ratio,
pH value,
Bacteria biomass,
HRT,
Designing of bioreactor
Temperature.
BIOGASPRODUCTIONINDEVELOPINGCOUNTRIES

Biogas technology is a proven and established technology

in many parts of the world, especially Asia where
domestic size biogas plants are more popular.

Several countries in this region have embarked on large-

scale programmes on domestic biogas, such as
China, India and Nepal with millions of domestic biogas
plants installations.
Domestics Size Biogas Plants installed upto 2010 in some developing countries
40million
40
Indiastands2nd
35
amongstitspeers.What
isthepotentialof
30
mediumlargescale
biogasplants?
25

20

15

10
4.5million
222,500 150,000 35,000 6000 4000 75 49 24
5

Sources: Based on various source as mentioned in references

BiogasinINDIA

An estimate indicates that India has a potential of generating 6.38 X 1010 m3

of biogas from 980 million tones of cattle dung produced annually.

The heat value of this gas amounts to 1.3 X 1012 MJ. In addition, 350 million
tones of manure would also produce along with biogas.

Apart from the 4.5 million domestic biogas plants installed in India
against the potential of 12 million, there is a huge potential of installation
of medium and large scale biogas plants installation in India in small scale
industries, animal rearing farms, poultry
farms, distilleries, tanneries, hotels, restaurants, military barracks etc.
 Biogas Production Potential From Organic Wastes in India
12000

12000
10000 Potential
8000
MT/yr 6000 There are around 300
4000
30 9 4.5 0.0085
distilleries throughout India
2000 which collectively have a
0
Municipal Municipal Pressmud Foodwastes Willowdust
potential of producing 1200
liquidwaste Solidwaste million Nm3 biogas, and 2000
OrganicSolidWaste tannery units capable of
producing 787,500 Nm3 of
584000 biogas . The increasing
600000 number of poultry farms can
500000 also add to biogas productivity
Blts/yr
400000
as with a current population
300000
of 649 million birds, another
200000 19162 40 21.9 2173 million Nm3 of biogas can
100000
be generated.
0
Paper&pulp Tannery Distillery Dairy
industry (2000units) (295units) industry
waste(300 waste
mills)

OrganicLiquidWaste

Source: MNES Report, Renewable Energy in India and business opportunities, MNES. Govt. of India, New Delhi
TYPESOFBIOGASDIGESTERSANDPLANTS

Selection of Appropriate Design and Type of Digester depends upon

Space

Existing Structures

Minimizing Cost

Available Substrate
BASICBIOGASPLANTDESIGNS
The basic designs of biogas plants that are being
mostly promoted in the country are:

Floating gas holder: Khadi and Village Industries

Commission (KVIC) type design for
family, community, institutional and industrial
biogas plants.

Fixed dome design: Janata and Deenbandhu designs

for family size biogas plants.
 Flexi model bag digester design made of rubberized
nylon fabric for family size plants and as a floating
cover for sewage site biogas plants.

Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB), design

and other designs for medium and large size plants for
industrial, municipal and sewage waste based biogas
plants.
DifferenttypesofbiogasplantrecognisedbyMNES(Ministryof
NonConventionalEnergySources)

1.Floatingdrumplantwithacylinderdigester(KVICmodel).

2.Fixeddomeplantwithabrickreinforced,mouldeddome(Janata model).

3.Floatingdrumplantwithahemispheredigester(Pragati model).

4.Fixeddomeplantwithahemispheredigester(Deenbandhu model).

5.Floatingdrumplantmadeofangularsteelandplasticfoil(Ganesh model).

6.Floatingdrumplantmadeofprefabricatedreinforcedconcretecompound
units.

7.Floatingdrumplantmadeoffibreglassreinforcedpolyester.
FloatingdrumPlants
 KVIC Model Biogas Plant Deenbandhu 2m3 model Family size biogas plant

A Pre-fabricated RCC based Krishna model Sintex make Pre-fabricated HDPE material
fixed dome Biogas Plant based 2m3 Deenbandhu Model Biogas Plant
BiogasplantsatGhaziabadGoshala
 FixeddomePlants

Sources: http://www.tutorvista.com/content/science/science-ii/sources-energy/biogas-plants.php#,
http://bio-gas-plant.blogspot.in/2011/08/biogas-plant-pakistan-photo-gallery.html
Flexible BalloonBiogasPlants

Sources: http://www.sswm.info/category/implementation-tools/wastewater-treatment/hardware/site-storage-and-treatments/
anaerobic-di, http://kochi.olx.in/biogas-balloon-plants-iid-233853697
TheNEED
 RawBiogasUpgradedBiogas
AlowGradefuel(CH4 5565%& Ahighgradefuel(CH4>90%and<
CO2 3545%)withlowerpercentage
ofmethane.
Modeofutilisation
Onsiteornearby
Cookingandforelectricity
production.
ThepresenceofCO2 besidesbeing
noncombustible,restrainsits
compressibilitytherebymaking
biogasdifficulttobestoredin
containers.
Forutilisationatfaroffplacesit
mustbestoredinbiogasballoons
andtakentothesiteofutilisation
oritcanbetransportedby
pipelines.
10%othergases)withhighpercentage
ofmethane.
Modeofutilisation
Remoteapplications
Methaneburnsfasterhenceyieldsa
higherspecificoutputandthermal
efficiencycomparedtorawbiogas
whenusedasenginefuel.
Upgrading,compressionand
bottlingfacilitateseasystorageand
transportationas
Asavehiclefuel
Asacookingfuel
Forelectricityproduction
VERSATILITYOFBIOGASUSE

Upgradingwidensthescopeofutilization
 UtilizationofRawBiogas

Pipeline for raw biogas use as a cooking fuel Raw biogas cookstove

Biogas Engine for electricity production

Biogas lamp
 UtilizationofUpgradedBiogas

Upgraded and bottled biogas for use Cascades of Upgraded biogas being Biogas Motorcycle in Thailand
as a cooking fuel transported

Biogas car in Sweden Biogas Train in Sweden Biogas Car in India

TheSolution

....Low Cost biogas Upgrading

 BiogasEnrichment
Theuseofabiogasupgradingorpurificationprocessinwhichtheraw
biogasstreamlikeCO2,H2Sandmoistureareabsorbedorscrubbedoff,
leavingabove90%methaneperunitvolumeofgas.

PresenceofCO2 inbiogasposesfollowingproblems:
Itlowersthepoweroutputfromtheengine;
Ittakesupspacewhenbiogasiscompressedandstoredincylinder;
Itcancausefreezingproblemsatvalvesandmeteringpointswherethe
compressedgasundergoesexpansionduringenginerunning.

ThetracesofH2SproducesH2SO4 whichcorrodetheinternalsofpipes,
fittingsetc.

Moisturecausescorrosionanddecreasesheatingvalueofthefuel.
 CompressionofBiogas

The energy density of upgraded biogas is comparatively low at

ambient pressure and as a result it must be compressed at high
pressures (e.g. 200250 bar) to allow its sufficient storage in
bottles/cylinders.

Compressing biogas
reduces storage space requirements,
concentrates energy content and
increases pressure to the level needed to overcome resistance to gas
flow.

Compression can eliminate the mismatch of pressures and

guarantee the efficient operation of the equipment.
RemovalofCO2fromBiogas
The feasible processes of biogas purification are:

Absorption into liquid (Physical / Chemical)

Adsorption on solid surface
Membrane separation
Cryogenic separation

Selection of the appropriate process for a particular application

depends on the scale of operation, composition of the gas to be
treated, degree of purity required, capital cost and the need for CO2
recovery.
Comparisonbetweenselectedparametersforcommonupgradingprocesses

Methods High Chemical Pressure Membrane Cryogenic

pressure absorption swing separation
Parameters water absorption

scrubbing
GasPreCleaning No Yes Yes Yes Yes
Requirement
Working 910Bar 1Bar 4 7bar 47bar 40bar
Pressure
MethaneLoss 1 2% 12% 12% 10 15% 12%
%purityattained 9598% Upto 99% 95 99% Upto90% Upto99%
ofupgraded
Biogas
Heat Required
requirement
OperatingCost Low Moderate Moderate Low High
InitialCost Low Moderate Moderate Moderate High
ProcessHandling Easy Complex Easy Easy Complex
 The most widely used technologies for biogas upgrading are water
scrubbing, PSA, membrane and chemical scrubbing. Out of these
technologies, water scrubbing and PSA are most appropriate at a small scale due
to low cost and easy maintenance.

Till 2011, the number of biogas upgrading plants in the world were 150.

In India there are 5 biogas upgrading plants till 2011.

150Upgradingplants
Intheworld+5plants
inIndia

Waterscrubbing
PSA ChemicalScrubbing Membraneplants Others
51(world)+5
plantsinIndia
43 31 10 15

Source: http://www.iea-biogas.net/_download/publi-task37/upgrading_rz_low_final.pdf
DESIGNOFWATERSCRUBBINGSYSTEM
 WaterScrubbingMethod

InvolvesthephysicalabsorptionofCO2andH2Sinwaterathigh
pressuresandregenerationbyareleaseinpressurewithverylittle
changeintemperature.

Easiestandcheapestmethodinvolvinguseofpressurizedwaterasan
absorbent.

Theabsorptionprocessis,thusacountercurrentone.Thedissolved
CO2andH2Sinwaterarecollectedatthebottomofthetower.
Absorption of CO2 in water

TheamountofCO2 beingdissolvedinwaterisdeterminedby

1)Thetimeofcontactbetweenbiogasandwithwater To
increasethecontacttimeofthegaswithwater,countercurrent
mechanismisfollowedbymakingwatertoflowfromthetopto
bottomandrawbiogasfrombottomtotop.

2)thepressureoftherawbiogasandwater.
SolubilityofCO2 andCH4 inWater
ApproximateSolubilityofCO2 inWater

Pressure Solubility, in kg of CO2 per kg of water at different

(atm) temperatures.
0 C 10 C 20 C 30 C

1 0.40 0.25 0.15 0.10

20 3.15 2.15 1.30 0.90

50 7.70 6.95 6.00 4.80

PackedBedScrubber

Packedbedscrubbersareusedfordistillationandgas
absorption.
Consistsof
acylindricalcolumn,equippedwithagasinletanddistributingspace
atbottom,
aliquidinletanddistributorattop,
liquidandgasoutletsatbottomandtoprespectivelyand
asupportedmassofinertsolidshapes.

Thesolidshapesarecalledcolumnpackingorfilling.
Thepackingprovidesalargerareaofcontactbetweenthe
liquidandgasandencouragesintimatecontactbetweenthe
phases.
A Typical Packed Bed Tower
Main parameters calculated for the packed bed for a
particular capacity are

Working Pressure

Tower Packing

Diameter of Packed Bed

Height of Packed Bed

 Working Pressure of the Packed Bed Tower
The solubility of CO2 & CH4 in water is directly proportional to
pressure. As the pressure increases, requirement of water and volume
of packed column decreases for a fixed flow rate of biogas.

Higher working pressure poses the problem of difficult fabrication of

tower, difficulty in finding control equipments (sensor, valves etc.) and
higher electricity consumption for compression of gas.

Very low pressure results in excess water requirement and much

bigger size of columns.

Therefore, an intermediate value working pressure of 10 bar (absolute)

is chosen in IIT Delhi WS system case.
 TowerPacking

Packing provides the large interface area for the contact of

liquid and gas phase inside the packed tower.

Has an open structure: low resistance to gas flow.

Promote uniform liquid distribution on the packing surface.

Promote uniform vapor gas flow across the column cross-

section.
Types of packing (a) Raschig rings (b) Pall rings (c) Berl saddle ceramic
(d) Intalox saddle ceramic (e) Metal Hypac ( f ) Ceramic, super Intalox
 DeterminationofDiameter(D)andHeight(H)ofthe
PackedBedColumn

The capacity of a packed bed absorption column is depended on its

cross-sectional area.

The column will be designed to operate at the highest economical

pressure drop, to ensure good liquid and gas distribution.

There is no entirely satisfactory method for predicting the height of a

transfer unit.
In practice the value for a particular packing will depend not only on
the physical properties and flow-rates of the gas and liquid, but also
on the uniformity of the liquid distribution throughout the column,
which is dependent on the column height and diameter.
Hence based upon the above calculations and selections the
following input parameters are decided

BiogasEnrichmentPlantParameters

Raw Biogas Flow 20Nm3/Hr

Rate
Vapour phase Biogas (63% CH4, 34%
CO2)
Liquid Phase Water
Working ~10 Bar
Pressure
Working Ambient
Temperature
Packing Material IMTP
Diameter of 15cm
Packed Bed
Height of Packed 3.0 m
Bed
Water flow rate 4 Nm3/hr

WaterScrubbingSystemforBiogas
EnrichmentatIITDelhi
 Control Valve
Pressure Sensor
Purified Gas Out
Enriched Biogas Mist Eliminator

Water In

Water In
Packed Bed Length: 3M
Packed Bed Diameter: 15 cm
Liquid Re-distributor Working Pressure: ~ 9 Bar
Capacity: ~ 15 NM3/Hr
Random Packing
IMTP

Packing Support

Raw Biogas Compressed Raw

Gas In
Level Sensor

Water Sealing
Control Valve

Water Out Water with CO2 Out

 IPC: Intermediate Pressure Compressor
HPC: High Pressure Compressor PCS
PCS: Pressure Control System GDM
FCS: Flow Control System Adsorber
LCS: Level Control System PSA type Column
GDM: Gas Distribution Mechanism Drier
WP: Water Pump
IPC
PR: Pressure Regulator
GDM

PCS CO2 with impurities

PR
to storage
CNG
Dispensing
Packed Flash Buffer Nozzle
Tower Tower Vessel
HPC

IPC
LCS
Biogas
Plant Storage Cylinder
Cascade
WP
FCS

Block Diagram of Biogas Purification & Bottling Plant

MoistureRemovalSetup
PSA type drier is employed for the removal of moisture. Based on
the concept of selective adsorption of moisture at the outer surface
of adsorbents such as Silica Gel, Activated Alumina, Zeolite
Molecular Sieves etc.
Dry Gas Out Purge Gas

PCS

Packed Bed Length: 1.5 M

Packed Bed Diameter: 25 mm

Regeneration
Working Pressure: ~7 Bar
Drying

Working temperature: Ambient

Capacity: 6 NM3/Hr

Wet Gas In
C
Auto Drain Valve

PSA type Drier for Moisture Removal

A Biogas Bottling plant
Consists of
High Pressure compressor,
Cascade of storage cylinders and
A dispensing nozzle for filling the compressed purified gas in the
vehicles.
Dried and purified gas goes into the suction of High Pressure
Compressor, where it compress the gas to desired working
pressure (~200 Bar) and fill into the storage cylinder cascade. A
CNG dispensing cable along with nozzle is used for filling of gas in
the vehicles.
ControlSystem

Isusedformaintainingthedesiredworkingparameters
intheplant.Therearemainlythreecontrolsystemsin
theplant

Waterflowratecontrol

GaspressureControl

Waterlevelcontrol
PowerConsumptionintheUpgradingPlant:
Fora20Nm3/hrcapacityplant,thepowerrequirementinupgradingis

RawBiogasCompressor:3KW
WaterPump:2KW
ControlValves&Sensorsetc.:0.25KW
Total:5.25KW
0.26kWhr/Nm3ofrawbiogas.
PowerConsumptionintheBottlingSystem:
EnergyRequiredforCompressionAndBottling:3kW
Totalenergyrequiredforupgradingandbottlingof20m3/hrofraw
biogas=2+3+3+0.25=8.25kW
PowerrequirementperNm3rawbiogas=0.4125kWh
Systemenergyrequirementasapercentageofrawbiogas=6.88%of
rawbiogasenergy
Biogas Plant at IIT Delhi
 Liquid Redistribution unit in
New Modified Water Scrubbing Tower at IIT Delhi the new modified water
scrubbing tower at IIT Delhi
 Intermediate Gas Compressor

Water pump Rotameter High Pressure Compressor

Raw and upgraded biogas storage vessels Two cylinder cascade
for
bottling of upgraded
biogas
UpgradedBiogasDispensingSystematIIT
Delhi
Dispensing upgradedbiogasinvehicle
EnrichedBiogasOperatedThreeWheeler
LuggageCarrier

Biogas Dispenser
 Results

A fully automatic plant of 20 Nm3/Hr capacity has been developed

successfully at IIT Delhi.

Desired composition of purified gas (CH4: 95% (min), H2S: 20 ppm

(max), Moisture: 20 ppm (max) is achieved with a consistent gas
quality.

Our system is automatically controlled with consistent quality of

enriched gas and a methane loss of about 2%.
 Somepilotplantsforbiogasupgradation

RajasthanGoSewaSanghJaipursince2007
MadhavGovigyanSansthanBhilwara2008
MuniSewaAsharamnearVadodrasince2008
CommunitylevelBiogasplantforpipeddistributionof
gasnearValsad(Guj)sine2008
ShriKrishnaGoshala,Ghaziabadsince2009
BiogasupgradationandbottlingplantatNasik,Maharashtra
Water Scrubbing and PSA Cylinder Cascade for High Pressure Compressor
system at Nasik bottled biogas at Nasik plant
BiogasUpgradingandBottlingPlantatAbhohar,Mukatsar,
Punjab1stTechnologydemonstrationplantBGFPproject
BiogasBasedEntrepreneurial
AvenueOptionsinIndia
 In developing economies many
entrepreneurial avenues in the biogas sector
are available in :

1)Goshalas,
2) Poultry Farms
3) Dairy farms
4) Cluster of households in villages
 In the developing countries the following biogas
enterprenurial options are possible
Consider : Cluster of households in villages

Rawbiogasis
thenpurified
Centralized Bottledandfilledin
wastecollection Thewasteis cascadeofcylinders
system mixedand fortransportationin
ruralareas.
Ruralpeopleputall shreddedthen Canbeusedfor
theirwastes animal
dungandhuman putinthe cookingorfillinginthe
vehiclecylindersfor
waste,agricultural biogas transport,
wastesina
centralizedcollection digesters Canbeusedfor
place. generatingpower
using100%biogas
engines
 Mobilebiogasupgradingunit

Upgradation unit is attached to a vehicle mounted on a trolley.

This unit can cater to more than one biogas plants in a cluster.

The trolley mounted machine with the help of a vehicle can be

transported to the digesters located at different locations and
raw biogas is filled up in the storage vessel.

The raw biogas can be upgraded by these mobile units and can
fill up CNG cylinders for storage at high pressure and transported
to the required place with ease, causing an uninterrupted supply
of upgraded biogas
Mobile biogas upgrading unit
Economicviabilityof200m3day1 biogasproductionand20m3 hour1 upgradingplant
Biogas Plant:
Biogas Production 200 Nm3 day-1
A. Cost: Rs. 2 million (~ 30,000)
Biogas Upgrading and Bottling System (20 m3 hour-1)
Purified Gas Quantity ~ 80 kg day-1
Purified Gas Composition CH4: 95 %, CO2: 3, H2S: < 20 ppm,
Moisture: < 20 ppm
Cost of biogas upgrading system Rs. 4.5 million

Cost of biogas bottling system Rs. 0.5 million (including high

pressure compressor system,
cylinders for gas storage and gas
dispensing system)
B. Total cost of biogas upgrading and bottling system Rs. 3.5 million (~ 75,000)

Slurry Management System

Slurry Production ~ 1.5 tonnes (50 % solid)
C. Cost: Rs. 1million (~ 15,000)
D. Other Costs : Land preparation, Civil work, High Rs. 1million (~ 15,000)
pressure gas storage cylinders taxes, Logistic etc.

Total Initial Cost of Project (A+ B+ C+D) Rs.9 million (~ 1,35,000)

 Revenue: if upgraded biogas is sold as a vehicle fuel
Purified Gas: as vehicle fuel (Rs. 35 kg) * (80 kg) = Rs. 2800 day-1
Slurry: (Rs. 3 kg-1) * (1500 kg) = Rs. 4500 day-1
Total Revenue Rs. 7300 day-1
E. Annual Revenue: (Rs. 7300 day-1) * (350 day) = Rs. 2.6 million (~ 39,000)

Cost of Dung (Rs. 250 tonne-1) * (5 tonnes day-1) = Rs. 1250 day-1

Annual cost of dung (Rs. 1250 day-1) * (365) = Rs. 0.45 million
Annual cost of water and electricity Rs. 0.15 million (Annual)
Annual cost of manpower Rs. 0.2 million (Annual)
Annual Maintenance cost Rs. 0.15 million
F. Total Recurring cost Rs. 0.95 million (~ 14,200)
Annual Profit: Rs. 1.65 million (~ 25,000)
Subsidy (Power Equivalent) Rs. 1.6 million
Beneficiary Expenditure Rs. 7.4 million (~ 1,10,000)
Payback Period 4.625 years
Revenue: if upgraded biogas is sold as a cooking fuel
Purified Gas as cooking fuel (Rs. 70 kg-1) * (80 kg) = Rs. 5600 day-1
Commercial gas cost @ 72 kg
Slurry: (Rs. 3 kg-1) * (1500 kg) = Rs. 4500 day-1
Total Revenue Rs. 10,100 day-1
G. Annual Revenue: (Rs. 10,100 day-1) * (350 day) = Rs. 3.56 million (~ 52,000)
Total Recurring cost Rs. 0.95 million (~ 14,200)
Annual Profit: Rs. 2.61 million (~ 39,000)
Subsidy (Power Equivalent) Rs. 1.6 million
Beneficiary Expenditure Rs. 7.4 million (~ 1,10,000)
Payback Period 2.84 years
 An automatic plant of 20 Nm3/Hr capacity has been developed
successfully at IIT Delhi.

Desired composition of purified gas (CH4: 95% (min), H2S: 20 ppm

(max) has been achieved with a consistent gas quality.

The system gives consistent quality of enriched gas as per the

Indian Standards for Upgraded Biogas.
Video of Biogas Enrichment and Bottling Plant at IIT Delhi
 StandardsforUpgradedBiogasinIndia
(BIS)
Upgraded biogas delivered to any vehicle, stationary engine or piped network shall
comply to the following standards

No. Biogas Component Percentage

Methane (CH4) 90 %
1

Carbon Dioxide (CO2) 4%

2

Hydrogen Sulphide (H2S) 20 ppm

3

Moisture 0.02 g m-3

4
Conclusions
Out of several methods of biogas enrichment, water
scrubbing is found to be a simple, easy and suitable method
for enrichment of biogas.

An indigenous technology is developed by IIT Delhi for small

sale biogas enrichment and bottling.

The designed and fabricated biogas water scrubber is able to

enrich biogas with above 95% methane .

To make biogas suitable for automobile application, the

enriched biogas is compressed up to 200 bar and filled in
special high pressure cylinders (as used in CNG filling).
THANK YOU